I like PS, in small doses (say, once every 2-3 years or so). Carlisle makes a nice one. Foppiano had an old-vine one years ago that is not made anymore (vineyard got ripped up for house development in the 90's) that was excellent. Had a good one from Lava Cap before. I'm sitting on a 1999 Lorca that ought to be interesting. Petite sirah makes tough rough-n'tumble wines, a little like baga does in Portugal or tannat in southern France. Yeah, they last, but with age the tannins subside and it smooths out a bit. Good with rustic stick-to-the-ribs cooking.

I like PS but don't often have it, its no so common here. Recently I have had EOS and McManis Family Vineyards (California), also some PS from Fairview in South Africa, they were the first to grow and make PS in SAf. Their PS - perhaps because they're young vines - is lighter and less 'chewy' than the CA I've had.

Redwinger - I had that 1995 Ridge two years ago -- I think you'll find it's ready now.

Jenise wrote:Tom, besides the Thackrey mentioned, I have a 96 Teldeschi, 03 M2, 00 Behrens and Hitchcock single vineyard I can't remember the name of--Bandini?--and some more recent Scholium Projects called something-of-Babylon, or some such. You know their heady names.

Any thoughts on those? And whatever happened to Teldeschi, anyway? Not a winery name I see around any more.

Jenise,The Teldeschi should be pretty good. I think he (Ray or Mike) is still in business...just maybe not in much distribution.Don't know the M2.The B&H wines I didn't much care for...some pretty over the top. And many closed w/ plastic corks...which failed.Bandini...that name doesn't trigger anything in my mind.ScholiumProject: Now we're talking here. AbeSchoener gets is grapes from Tenbrink vnyd (where he makes his wine) there in theSuisunVlly of SolanoCnty. MattRorick/ForlornHope also makes PS from those same grapes. I haven't followed Abe's PS veryclosely (or even...from the very start), but the one I had was a big bruiser that I thought would age very well. Matt's is one ofthe best in Calif...from an area that gets no respect.Tom

I've had a few Petit Sirahs that I have enjoyed, but many do seem over-ripe and flabby and massive. Good ones to me have an earthy, herbaceous character that belies the reputation/standard expression of the grape.

Hopper Creek, a small, under the radar winery that shares the driveway with Bell Cellars south of Yountville, made a very nice one from Chiles Valley fruit. Relative lean, some herbal notes, but still resolutely "purple" in character. The current release is the 2007, so they don't push amazingly too young wines out the door like some do. Quixote (the former owner of Stags Leap Winery) has one that I've enjoyed in some years, but the 2008 was very oaky! Clarksburg Wine Company on the river south fo Sacramento made a preety nice, achingly young one with some bright character and tautness.

...(Humans) are unique in our capacity to construct realities at utter odds with reality. Dogs dream and dolphins imagine, but only humans are deluded. –Jacob Bacharach

Petite Sirah is sort of like Malbec. A lot of simple fruit in the face wines of not much interest, dead in a few years, and the minority of interesting ageworthy wines. The problem is knowing which is which.

I agree about Foppiano being decent and reliable. And one of my fave PS was a 1975 Freemark York Creek, drunk at the age of 30 (the wine, not me).

Like most of the other posters, I find young PS very tough. Fruity, jammy and very, very tannic. But the best (Ridge and Stag's Leap, among others) do eventually turn into something very special once the fruit and tannins have abated. The problem is that the maturation period is 15+ years. We recently opened a case of Stag's Leap 1993 and it had developed into a very pleasant wine indeed: balanced, quite complex and nicely long. No way that one would have guessed 18+ years old, more like 8.

Once I figured out that PS took that long to mature, I stopped buying any. I am quite happy cellaring wine for a long time but I prefer having a better idea how long long is.

Viktin Petite Syrah: on the other end of the scale. Deep dark. When young, it is recommended to open at least 6 hours in advance.This winery took on producing wines from non-Bordeaux grapes more than 10 years ago.

Rogov's TN sample:

*Vitkin,Petite Syrah, 2007: Made from old vine grapes (30-40 years old), a super-dark garnet wine with fine balance between spicy wood, acidity and fruits. Opens with the traditional rich huckleberry, boysenberry and blackberry notes that we have come to associate with the better wines of this variety, those matched nicely by notes of minerals, dark chocolate. Once firm and somewhat chunky tannins now settling in nicely to produce a powerful but round and elegant wine. Drink now–2012, perhaps longer. NIS 115. Score 90.

Sea Horse, Munk: another "heavy" sample:

Rogov's TN:

Sea Horse, Munch, 2006: Petite Sirah at its best. Dark, almost impenetrably inky garnet in color, full-bodied, concentrated and intense, showing generous wood and mouth-coating tannins, those in fine balance with red plum, blueberry and currant fruits. Give this one time and it will prove supple, ripe and rich. Approachable now but best from mid-2009-2012. Score 92

"Tight" indeed, Paul! There seem to be two knocks on PS: One, that it's tight and tannic and hard and takes forever. That's the kind I like. And the other, that it's lush and overripe and unintegrated. Some places here in Sonoma County make that. I don't buy it.

Jenise wrote:Tom, besides the Thackrey mentioned, I have a 96 Teldeschi, 03 M2, 00 Behrens and Hitchcock single vineyard I can't remember the name of--Bandini?--and some more recent Scholium Projects called something-of-Babylon, or some such. You know their heady names.

Any thoughts on those? And whatever happened to Teldeschi, anyway? Not a winery name I see around any more.

Jenise,The Teldeschi should be pretty good. I think he (Ray or Mike) is still in business...just maybe not in much distribution.Don't know the M2.The B&H wines I didn't much care for...some pretty over the top. And many closed w/ plastic corks...which failed.Bandini...that name doesn't trigger anything in my mind.ScholiumProject: Now we're talking here. AbeSchoener gets is grapes from Tenbrink vnyd (where he makes his wine) there in theSuisunVlly of SolanoCnty. MattRorick/ForlornHope also makes PS from those same grapes. I haven't followed Abe's PS veryclosely (or even...from the very start), but the one I had was a big bruiser that I thought would age very well. Matt's is one ofthe best in Calif...from an area that gets no respect.Tom

Tom, I took the Teldeschi to Bill Spohn's Friday lunch last week. I had been curious if it would pass the test of showing secondary development vs. just "lasting", to quote David Bueker I think it was, and indeed it did though it's years away from shedding all it's primary fruit. Initial guesses were centered on it being a Cabernet Sauv from the 90's.

M2 is a winery owned by two Sacramento guys. They went commercial with the 2004 vintage, I believe, and have since built a wine tasting room somewhere in the Sac-Lodi region; wines are big and more elegant than you expect from Lodi, though they source from all over. My PS came from the Santa Cruz mountains, I believe.

Re the B & H, I believe the vineyard is 'Barcini'--though I wasn't far off with 'Bandini'.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

John Treder wrote:People brag about how long it takes Bordeaux and Barolo to grow up; why are they so picky about PS? Merely because it isn't famous?

Yup......exactly it...it's not famous and doesn't sell for big $$$'s.Actually...I think part of it is that PS is so danged unpredictable in how it evolves....whereasthe aging trajectories of Barolo/Bdx is a bit more predictable.

Opened a 2011 le P'tit Paysan tonight. Not what one expects of a young Petit Syrah. Tannins are not excessive. Wine is not jammy. Instead its almost sleek. Has some noticeable acid, med+ frame, pure raspberry flavor but the nose is more complex. Hoping for some more complexity with age but very nice as is today. Only drawback is that the finish is a little short and a touch bitter. Listed alc is 13.7%. Price is around $20. Great QPR.